Blue Jays Release Steve Delabar, Randy Choate

The Blue Jays have released righty Steve Delabar, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reports on Twitter. Toronto also cut loose southpaw Randy Choate, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca was among those to tweet.

Delabar, 32, had agreed to avoid arbitration for $835K, and the Jays will remain on the hook for about one fifth of that (45 days of salary). But he was out of options and obviously wasn’t destined to make the pen. Things haven’t gone well for the righty since his All-Star nod in 2013. In the last two seasons he owns a 5.07 ERA in 55 frames with 8.3 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9 in the major leagues, and he’s also had stints at Triple-A in both years.

As for the veteran Choate, Toronto skipper John Gibbons says that the club hopes to sign him to a new deal to remain in the organization. He was an Article XX(B) free agent and thus was eligible for a $100K retention bonus had he been kept in the minors. A 40-year-old LOOGY, Choate has continued his dominance against left-handed hitters over the past several years but is a very marginal option against righties.